Aeon "Stark" - Working screens

I can't go into specifics (NDA), but there's been some interest in Aeon - from two parties, no less - that's caused a bit of uncertainty over the last fortnight. Apologies, then, for the lack of recent news. Life happens.

Any screenshots posted here are intended solely to keep you guys ticking over. Some will be more complete than others but all are subject to change. Some might be unrecognisable by the time they're done. All are captured realtime from XBMC - none is just a Photoshop image. And no, we're not accepting feature requests. To recap: this is a new, upcoming version of Aeon. Aeon "Classic" will shortly become a part of the XBMC Skinning Project, for continued development by anyone who feels like it.

All the best.

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Here's the List view. You'll notice a slight difference in style between this and the Settings screens posted previously. Partly, this is because they were developed after the partnership with theDevil came to an end, so there's a natural deviation. Secondly, I wanted a very precise balance between the backdrop and the window content - certainly more than existed in the original Aeon. I've tested this with dozens of different backdrops; not only is the clarity of the foreground objects improved, but the backdrop is also more visible. An ideal balance, I think. There's still stuff left to do with the colour balance, though, and a few labels to add. Oh, and while you can see where the scrollbar goes, the object isn't in yet.

Every list view has its own integrated coverflow, the animations for which are very nice indeed - much nicer than the old music roller, for sure. Also, all the menu options for each media window are visible at once. This is partly because, for the sake of getting this thing finished, I've stripped out all the experimental features from the first Aeon such as trailer windows and the Adult section. I also plan to revise the way the Movie/TV links work so there are no more shenanigans with bookmarks, etc. I suspect this'll involve having a separate Video section or something.

Here's a first look at Aeon's entirely rebuilt Settings area. The first thing to note is the "Virtual Homepage", a fully functioning replica of the normal Home (complete with background switching, RSS etc) that provides an accurate visual reference for much of your customisation. It also acts as the interface for these actions, making for a dramatic improvement in Aeon's user-friendliness. More info below the screen.

So in the above screen, you move about as you would on the main menu - but selection brings up the dialog and browser for picking new backdrops. Then we come to Furniture, which is where you rearrange the Home page as you see fit. Old Aeon experimented with this a bit; new Aeon completes it. So you can now split the Home menu up and move the pieces about entirely through the Virtual Homepage. I've linked to the screenshots below to save space.

I was never entirely satisfied with the half-arsed implementation of the tutorials in Aeon, so they're now wholly integrated into the Settings section. Aside from giving Settings a bit more texture than you'd usually expect, it makes it very easy indeed to change the slides or add new ones. Each menu option selected triggers a tutorial set specific to that subsection. The aim isn't to provide advanced settings for veteran XBMC users, but rather a glimpse of its capabilities and options for newcomers and casual observers. Four screens in all, three of which are links. And remember, nothing should be considered final.

By intrested parties, are you indicating that someone is offering you money or a contract for aeon? I understand you can't go into detail, just wanted to know if we will eventually have to pay for aeon.

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ibejaminben Wrote:By intrested parties, are you indicating that someone is offering you money or a contract for aeon? I understand you can't go into detail, just wanted to know if we will eventually have to pay for aeon.

Never really doubted you just wanted to stir up the pot a little.

We'll never have to pay for Aeon as long as it's a XBMC-skin.
That's why it's called open-scource.

djh_ Wrote:To recap: this is a new, upcoming version of Aeon. Aeon "Classic" will shortly become a part of the XBMC Skinning Project, for continued development by anyone who feels like it.

Great to hear!, ...however may I suggest that you keep the 'old' Aeon name for the 'classic' and give your new "Stark" skin that you are working on a complete new unique name so that no one will confuse them with each other based on the name.

Gamester17 Wrote:Great to hear!, ...however may I suggest that you keep the 'old' Aeon name for the 'classic' and give your new "Stark" skin that you are working on a complete new unique name so that no one will confuse them with each other based on the name.

I don't understand... you will put the "old" Aeon into SVN that you won't continue working on and focus your work on the "new" one? Does the NDA prohibit you putting both skins into SVN (if the skins are considered as separate, of course)?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of your work, but I find the secrecy and other parties involved not very typical for XBMC...